Alright, you guys know how I am by now. I love my metal, but I just can’t stand cookie monster vocals. While I don’t like LISTENING to them, I take great pleasure in laughing on them (as Borat would say). Obviously, so does the creator of the Death Metal Rooster video. Watch. Enjoy. Laugh. Share. Repeat!
Archive for January, 2010
I honestly don’t have enough guitars
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
My Carvin Bolt Plus is a go-to guitar. I love playing it.
I currently have four guitars. And it boggles my mind that this is honestly, genuinely not enough to meet my needs. That’s ludicrous. Here’s why they’re just not enough:
Hung Dynasty/Betamaxx - My primary band and its soon-to-be-sprung-on-the-world offshoot tunes to Eb. Playing live without a backup is the acme of foolishness, especially for a hard-hitting, Floyd Rose-using brute like me. So I’ve got my wonderful Carvin Bolt Plus and pretty solid Charvel 375 DLX (known as Liberace because … well, just look at it!) pulling duty for these projects. The Carvin is Number One - the action is beautiful, and the swamp ash body and HAS Sound bridge pickup just destroy all my other guitars from a tone perspective. It’s not even close.
Luminatus - Though our first gig only had four tunes, I expect that to expand. That means my battered Charvel Model 4 (known as Big Red), which is tuned to D, is going to need help. I’ve gotta be honest: I’m cheap, or I would simply have Carvin build me another Floyd-equipped Bolt Plus. At about $1,000, they’re a killer value for a high-quality USA-made guitar. But I’m cheap, so I’m likely to lurk for an old Charvel or Kramer. Some of the Kramers have real Floyd Rose bridges, not the
Big Red (seen here in an early Hung gig) is making a comeback in Luminatus.
knock-off “licensed” models. That makes a huge difference, and don’t let any sales drone tell you any different. I would also commit some serious transgressions to get a hold a Michael Wilton-signature LTD, or a 90s-vintage ESP Horizon or Mirage. Yum.
General Use - A koa-topped Ovation acoustic/electric. This is handy for figuring out tunes from bands that are tuned to A440, which is pretty much most of them. It’s also very handy for just getting a different vibe from practice and songwriting. To be honest, practice on the acoustic negatively affects my electric playing: The higher string tension forces me to fret chords and notes harder - that same amount of pressure can actually make chords (especially inverted triads) sound out-of-tune on the electric. I have to be mindful to reduce my fretting pressure.
The truly funny thing? I hate buying guitars. It’s because I always have sneaking suspicion I could’ve gotten something better for less. But that’s just because I’m a jerk. Oh, well.
Liberace is likely to see far more action when Betamaxx is rolling. I'll need its trashy 80s glam flash.
Getting Prepared for Avatar
Saturday, January 16th, 2010Hung Dynasty had a good practice last night. We got through some stuff that we’ve neglected, plus worked on some new material.
Of course, the best moments are often between songs - you know, the fun brand of Hung Dynasty banter. Todd mentioned he was thinking of “biting the bullet and going to see Avatar.”
“Pack a lunch,” I told him. “It’s a long movie.”
“Lunch?” he said, incredulously. “I’m gonna bring a catheter and a leg bag!”
Watch Less, Do More
Thursday, January 14th, 2010I’ve just been thinking a lot about what playing the guitar does for me. Oddly enough, it was firing up the TV that did this. A friend at work is upgrading his DVD collection to Blu-Ray. He gets pennies on the dollars for selling or trading, so he often gives DVDs to his buddies. I wound up with Superbad.
It took me two days to watch it. By my calculation, that was also the first time I turned our TV on in nearly three weeks.
That’s an average of about six-and-a-half minutes of TV per day. According to a story in the LA Times, Americans watch an average of nearly 5 hours a day on TV.
With that in mind, let me offer a modest proposal: For every 10 hours you spend watching TV, go see one live local concert. Having spent the last five years in a band, I can tell you that everyone loves to say they like local music. If a quarter of the people who say that actually went to see some shows, the venues would be packed.
And seriously, seeing just about any live band is more enriching than sitting in front of a TV.
By my best guess, I spend about 12 hours a week on my guitar. That includes composing, practicing, maintenance and the like. That’s about what I spend on exercise, generally. And that’s probably why I log 45 minutes of TV a week.
I’ve gotta say, I think my life is way better for it. I’d bet others would say the same if they gave it a try.
If you hate loud music, fine. Don’t see a show. Paint something. Read something. Dust off your camera. Get some knitting needles. But just tap into your creative side. There might be a true passion waiting for you to find it.
My Review of the Fryette Deliverance 60
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Close-up of the Deliverance 60 head.
I’ve been promising you guys a review of my Fryette Deliverance 60 for months. Sorry for the delay, but that’s just made my review that much better. I have tons of gigs on the Deliverance. The newness and excitement have worn off. I’m settled with it. I know how to work it.
And the bottom line? Well, it’s an awesome freakin’ head that will provide you with some serious tone! Here’s my full review at AssociatedContent.com!
Luminatus First Gig a Solid Success
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Holly and me at the first-eve Luminatus gig. Photo by Teri!
So I got through my first gig with Luminatus unscathed - mentally and physically. We played some Nightwish covers, along with one from The Gathering. I had a few spots where I just got caught in the groove and wound up being a touch slow in the chord changes. Everyone stayed together, even when there were the inevitable little rough spots.
Plow through - that’s always the main thing. Keep the train on the tracks and just get through the rough patch. When it doubt, lock onto the drummer. That’s really who’s in charge of every rock band.
It was actually the first-ever live show for Nicolas, the bassist. There’s nothing quite like that. I think that deserves a post of its own.
But I’m lazy from Hung Dynasty practice, and from putting together the outlines for a lesson in soloing using the pentatonic scale. More on what it’s like to play your first gig later!
